Page 23 of As the Rain Falls
“Oh,” he hums, like he knows exactly what I’m thinking.“I see.”
I wet my lips, finding it a bit annoying that I can be so easily read. “Don’t oh me.”
Beckett clears his throat and smiles at me. “I was not oh-ing you.”
“You were totally oh-ing me, Becky.”
Truthfully, there’s more to Beckett than just looks. I know it because I’m his neighbor, but also because I like to think that I’m his friend-to-be. Maybe I’m crazy for thinking like this, or maybe I’m just right. I mean, something about the way he carries himself always made me pause, even when I was a little girl.
Beckett is quiet by nature, almost too introverted, just like I am. That is, unless you know him. He becomes more talkative and cheekier if you do, and that’s something I can easily relate to. Like, I get talkative and cheeky too if you really get to know me. We really do have so much friendship potential!
Besides, he is also the most hardworking guy I know.I mean, he basically raised Lucia all on his own.
My brother is autistic, you cunt!
Lucia’s voice echoes in my head. Her delicate features are sharp in my memories like a charcoal drawing.Beckett had something like a meltdown in the middle of our annual Christmas recital back in middle school. He was stuttering through his words, complaining about the lights, or maybe it was the noise...
Yeah, it must have been the noise.
A stupid kid cursed at him, usingthatword… and Lucia promptly pushed him down the stairs in response, almost giving the kid a concussion.
I know Beckett never actually got diagnosed with autism, though. For one thing, Sainte Madeleine wouldn’t have accepted him as a student. My father claims the academy doesn’t want the hassle, which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. It’s not like people can control how they’re born, right?
People know him as a genius, and they act like the two things could never go together hand-in-hand. I don’t agree. To me, they could. But I don’t bother explaining it to my father, because that’s just asking to be grounded.
“Let me unlock the car first. I’ll take you to the passenger seat so you don’t get all wet.”
I nod and sigh, “Thank you.”
Click.
Genius.
That’s the kind of box that fits him.
Just likeslutfit Lucia once, andweirdfits me still.
But in my opinion, Beckett is no true genius. After all, a genius wouldn’t stay here. Not after all the things he just went through, with Lucia’s death and all.
I would’ve left Le Port a long time ago if I were him. This town—and the people living in it—is not worth the trouble.
THE PRETTIEST BOY IN TOWN
Cassandra
OCTOBER, 2016
Beckett moves fast tomake sure the heater is on. We rub our hands together until the tips of my fingers are no longer so cold, and I try not to think about the way his cheeks are so flushed. Next, he pulls a jacket from the backseat, and gently places it on my shoulders.
I just stare and watch as he opens the glove box and grabs a few napkins.
“Are you okay?”
I close my eyes shut, feeling the sting of the scratches on my knees. My ankle really hurts too, but I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. It’s not that serious.
“Yes.”
Beckett presses, “Cass?”
